Six reported killed in Iran clashes, as cost-of-living protests continue to rage

Five protesters and one paramilitary volunteer are among reported dead, as dozens arrested amid growing signs of crackdown; protests slow in Tehran, but pop up elsewhere

Widening demonstrations sparked by Iran’s ailing economy saw the first deaths on Thursday with at least six people reported killed — including 5 protesters and one member of the security forces — as the demonstrations spread into the Islamic Republic’s rural provinces, authorities said.

The deaths may mark the start of a heavier-handed response by Iran’s theocracy over the demonstrations, which have slowed in the capital, Tehran, but expanded elsewhere.

The protests have become the biggest in Iran since 2022, when the death of 22-year-old Mahsa Amini in police custody triggered nationwide demonstrations. However, the demonstrations have yet to be countrywide and have not been as intense as those surrounding the death of Amini, who was detained over not wearing her hijab, or headscarf, to the liking of authorities.

On Thursday, Iran’s Fars news agency reported two people killed in clashes between security forces and protesters in the city of Lordegan, in the province of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, and three in Azna, in neighboring Lorestan province.

“Some protesters began throwing stones at the city’s administrative buildings, including the provincial governor’s office, the mosque, the Martyrs’ Foundation, the town hall and banks,” Fars said of Lordegan, adding police responded with tear gas.

Fars reported that the buildings were “severely damaged” and that police arrested several people described as “ringleaders.”

The Washington-based Abdorrahman Boroumand Center for Human Rights in Iran said two people had been killed there, identifying the dead as demonstrators. It also shared a still image of what appeared to be an Iranian police officer, wearing body armor and wielding a shotgun.

Iran’s government media did not immediately report on the violence in Lordegan.

In Azna, Fars said “rioters took advantage of a protest gathering… to attack a police commissariat.”

In 2019, the area around Lordegan saw widespread protests, and demonstrators reportedly damaged government buildings after a report said people there had been infected with HIV by contaminated needles used at a local health care clinic.

‘Protests due to economic pressures’

A separate demonstration Wednesday night reportedly led to the death of a 21-year-old volunteer in the paramilitary Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps’ Basij force.

The state-run IRNA news agency reported on the Guard member’s death but did not elaborate. An Iranian news agency called the Student News Network, which is believed to be close to the Basij, directly blamed demonstrators for the Guard member’s death, citing comments from Saeed Pourali, a deputy governor in Iran’s Lorestan province.

The Guard member “was martyred … at the hands of rioters during protests in this city in defense of public order,” he reportedly said. Another 13 Basij members and police officers suffered injuries, he added.

“The protests that have occurred are due to economic pressures, inflation and currency fluctuations, and are an expression of livelihood concerns,” Pourali said. “The voices of citizens must be heard carefully and tactfully, but people must not allow their demands to be strained by profit-seeking individuals.”

The protests took place in the city of Kouhdasht, over 400 kilometers (250 miles) southwest of Tehran. Local prosecutor Kazem Nazari said 20 people had been arrested after the protests and that calm had returned to the city, the judiciary’s Mizan news agency reported.

Currency fall sparks protests

Iran’s civilian government under reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian has been trying to signal it wants to negotiate with protesters. However, Pezeshkian has acknowledged that there is not much he can do as Iran’s rial currency has rapidly depreciated, with $1 now costing some 1.4 million rials.

Meanwhile, state television separately reported on the arrests of seven people, including five it described as monarchists and two others it said had links to European-based groups. State TV also said another operation saw security forces confiscate 100 smuggled pistols, without elaborating.

Iran’s theocracy had declared Wednesday a public holiday across much of the country, citing cold weather, likely as a bid to get people out of the capital for a long weekend. The Iranian weekend is Thursday and Friday, while Saturday marks Imam Ali’s birthday, another holiday for many.

The protests, taking root in economic issues, have heard demonstrators chant against Iran’s theocracy as well. The country’s leaders are still reeling after Israel launched a 12-day war against the country in June. The US also bombed Iranian nuclear sites during the war.

Israel said its sweeping assault on Iran’s top military leaders, nuclear scientists, uranium enrichment sites, and ballistic missile program was necessary to prevent the Islamic Republic from realizing its avowed plan to destroy the Jewish state.

Iran has said it is no longer enriching uranium at any site in the country, trying to signal to the West that it remains open to potential negotiations over its atomic program to ease sanctions. However, those talks have yet to happen as US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have warned Tehran against reconstituting its atomic program.